ANTONIO CONTE has admitted Chelsea are in trouble, but insists his team can fight their way out of their doubts and dodgy tummies.

Conte’s team go into tonight’s FA Cup semi-final with Tottenham at Wembley with their squad riddled with illness and their opponents breathing down their necks in the chase for the Premier League title.

But he issued a pre-match swipe at the team from White Hart Lane as he insisted that for all the hype about them, Tottenham have to win something to be considered a top team.

And the Chelsea manager told the world not to worry about Diego Costa, his troubled, controversial centre-forward who is without a goal in six games.

Conte’s squad were hit by a bug before their defeat at Manchester United last week when Costa, Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses fell ill. And this week skipper Gary Cahill went down with a bout of gastro-enteritis that saw him briefly hospitalised and ruled out of tonight’s game.

Chelsea are in a crucial week with the semi-final tonight, a crunch league game against Southampton on Tuesday and then a tough trip to Everton with their lead at the top of the table whittled down to just four points by a Tottenham team with eight wins on the bounce under their belts.

Conte said: “This is a very clear situation for us. We are in trouble, facing this situation. But we are ready.

Express Sport predicts who will start for Chelsea in their FA Cup semi-final clash against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Saturday (5.15pm)

“My players have to enjoy this moment. This moment is great for everyone. For me, it is my first season, for my players, they worked hard to arrive at this point in the season, to get to a semi-final and have these games to win the title.

“We have to be compact, help each other, live with joy in this moment. At the start of this season every one of us would have signed to have this situation.

“The pressure is normal. I prefer to have this pressure instead of fighting for sixth, seventh, or eighth place.”

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is expected to return after missing the defeat at Old Trafford with an ankle problem, while Alonso and Moses have both recovered from illness, as has Costa.

Conte said: “You must have a different approach when you have these games so close. You have to find the right balance. Our work this week has been tactical, not physical, because you have to play a lot of games in a few days.”